Mind Matters Photo Shoot

Posted on May 17, 2018

You may have read about the Science Museum’s Mind Matters exhibit that opened on May 7^th or you may have seen reports about it on the news.

This groundbreaking exhibition aims to build a greater understanding of the importance of mental health and create a safe space for important conversations about mental illness.

Hopefully when reading local papers or magazines you will see the ads promoting the event featuring the face of someone who has come forward and shared their story in hopes of helping others not to feel alone and to seek help. I was privileged to take the photos of the strong and bold individuals you see in the media.

When Dan Wallace, VP of Marketing and Brand Strategy @ SMM, asked me to take the professional headshots for the Science Museum’s Mind Matters exhibit I was honored. I knew that it was important that every picture gave a face, literally and figuratively, to the courageous people who were telling their stories.

I also understood that time was an issue. So we scheduled the shoot of all the participants for one day. No one came to this shoot with a bad attitude, perhaps a bit of the normal trepidation people have about having their picture taken, but not a bad attitude. They were all committed to the project and following direction from of the Creative Director (Russ Stark) and the Photographer (me). I believe that commitment and attitude is why it didn’t take more than 15 minutes with each person to get the images we wanted.

Russ Stark the creative director on the project, Dan Wallace, and Cari Dwyer Project Leader, Exhibit Development & Design at the Science Museum (who did a great job scheduling all the shoots for one day) were there with me at the studio. Prior to the shoot, Russ took the time to go through my website and point out specific images that fit what he was looking for with this project. We had a clear plan going into the shoot. This was a dream job for me! I feel strongly about the need to create better awareness of the topic of mental health. I was getting a chance to use my skills towards a very important message.

What I remember most about this project was the commitment of everyone involved, including the storytellers, to make it great.

I will tell you about the people I photographed in future posts during the next couple of weeks. They are amazing.